40th Academy Awards
The 40th Academy Awards honored film achievements of 1967.
Originally scheduled for 8 April 1968, the awards were postponed to two days later, 10 April 1968, because of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..
Due to the increasing rarity of black and white feature films, the awards for cinematography, art direction and costume design were combined into single categories rather than a distinction between color and monochrome. The Best Picture nominees were an eclectic group of films reflecting the chaos of their era.
Bob Hope was once again the host of the ceremony. Angela Lansbury, fresh from her great success on Broadway in Mame, stole the show with her high-spirited and delightful rendition of the Oscar-nominated song Thoroughly Modern Millie, and received an overwhelmingly enthusiastic ovation from the audience.
The ultimate (surprise) winner in the Best Picture category was director Norman Jewison's thriller/mystery film, In the Heat of the Night (with seven nominations and five wins - Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound).
The 1967 Academy Award Winners
Picture: In the Heat of the Night
Actor: Rod Steiger (In the Heat of the Night)
Actress: Katharine Hepburn (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?)
Supporting Actor: George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke)
Supporting Actress: Estelle Parsons (Bonnie and Clyde)
Director: Mike Nichols (The Graduate)
Adapted Screenplay: Stirling Silliphant (In the Heat of the Night)
Original Screenplay: William Rose (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?)
Song: "Talk to the Animals" (Doctor Dolittle)
Score: Thoroughly Modern Millie (Original) / Camelot (Adaptation)
Cinematography: Bonnie and Clyde
Costume Design: Camelot
Art / Set Decoration: Camelot
Film Editing: In the Heat of the Night
Foreign Language Film: Closely Watched Trains (Czechoslovakia)
Sound: In the Heat of the Night
Sound Effects: The Dirty Dozen
Visual Effects: Doctor Dolittle
Short Films: The Box (Cartoons) / A Place to Stand (Live Action)
Documentaries: The Redwoods (Short) / The Anderson Platoon (Feature)
The fortieth Academy Awards ceremony was held on Wednesday, April 10, 1968 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The ceremony had been postponed (from Monday) because of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Bob Hope hosted the event.
